Initiation I

Kaitlinn, since she had been in the lobby when the escort arrived, was one of the first ones ushered into the auditorium. The black-haired angel gasped at the large stage and massive curtains- They were even bigger than the ones back home, at her school. She had acted on it before, and it seemed gigantic then. But the one here trounced it when it came to size. A girl, stood smack dab in the middle of it, completely illuminated by the lights. The seats out in the audience were already dark, like the show had already started, but there was only the white-haired girl. She was glancing- well, more like staring- over the ragtag group of four that filed in. This was an official meeting, and she hadn't had time to change. Oh, well. It wasn't like she was going to just shed her clothes and slip into her uniform in front of the boys. Bad idea. Bad, Bad idea. So, she just settled herself down in a seat in the row they directed the first years to sit in, and folded her hands in her lap, patient.
About fifteen minutes after they had gotten settled in, another boy came wandering into the auditorium, instantly choosing the seat next to her, and plunked himself down next to her. He was broad, with brown hair and strikingly contrasted blue eyes, that reminded her of a line from Shakespeare, from Julius Caesar- "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look". He relaxed deep into his seat and put his long legs up on the row in front of them. Then he reached into the pocket of his uniform and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter.
Kaitlinn groaned inwardly as he lit up. She nudged the boy, hard, in the ribs, and said through gritted teeth- "Hey, no smoking allowed."
In response, the kid chuckled darkly and glanced over with those eyes. "Where'd you see that?"
The angel huffed. "Nowhere. But it's a school. I don't think they'd even let tobacco on the premises... How'd you manage to sneak that in, anyway?"
He shrugged, completely ignoring her request to put his joint out as the first traces of smoke made Kate cough. "Did you get patted down?"
Grr! Smart Alecky answers. Crossing her arms, Kaitlinn gritted her teeth and turned her body away. She focused again on the stage and the white haired girl... who, she now noticed, was drinking wine. What? Was there no age limit here for alcohol? She couldn't be any older than twelve...

An hour and forty five minutes later, as soon as the last first year straggler arrived, they started. Kate listened, rapt, as the white haired girl gave the welcome. She was the headmistress, which kind of surprised the Angel. She must be immortal, or age very slowly.
Finally, the house assignments were announced. Kaitlinn was surprised to learn that she had been put in Unda with someone named Elsha. She wasn't sure exactly who that was, but she was sure to meet her soon. She walked up neatly, as asked, to get her emblem and sash. She felt a little exposed in civvies on stage, but it was alright. She was proud to call the blue of Unda her own.

Though he might be mean and stuck-up, that didn't mean that Cadence Geneva was one to be late. Unfortunately, he was, as much as he didn't want to be; an unforseen storm had delayed his flight out from Chile. As soon as he arrived at his destination, it was into a bathroom to change into the uniform he had stashed in his carry-on, and then to pick up his luggage. There was more than a boy would usually have, three cases; he was used to dressing and looking high-class.
The driver the family had hired from overseas, a member of the Geneva family himself, pulled up to the school after a long, rainy drive. There was a similar black car pulling out as they started up the smooth dirt road leading up to school. After a nod and signal (a flick of the thumb from behind the front top teeth) to his distant cousin, Cadence unloaded his things and was presently in the school. A man met him at the door, took his things, and led him to an auditorium. For as small as the building had looked from the outside, this was a surprisingly large hall. Cadence found himself looking around with a gruff nod of approval.
There were a few people there already, and the other first years had been seated in a row by themselves. Some of the older students stared at him as he went by. Menacingly, the chupacabra shifter's mouth twitched into a smile. It was the same everywhere he went. There was something evil about him that others could not get over. Cadence loved every glare he got, every look of disgust, every whisper of nervousness or anger. He reveled in it. That was how he had been functioning for the last fifteen years.
His driver had been smoking, but Cadence himself had not had a smoke since he left South America, so his body was screaming for one. As he slipped into the aforementioned first years' row, and chose a seat next to a pale-skinned, black-haired girl, he felt in his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter. No one had even thought to search him for them.
He slipped into the seat, and instantly was reclining nonchalantly, no regard for the school's property. These were really comfy seats, and that he needed a joint RIGHT NOW were the only two things running through his head. There, in the middle of everything, he pulled a single Camel out of his pack and cupping the end of it with his hand, flicked on the lighter and lit up.
A hard nudge in his ribs scared him more than hurt. A fierce whisper emanated from the little gal whom he had chosen to sit by. "Hey, no smoking allowed."
Cadence's ominous smile grew. Ah, the first seeds of fear. He chuckled, darkly. "Where'd you see that?" he replied, flippantly avoiding having to acknowledge that she was right.
An annoyed tone slipped into the girl's voice. "Nowhere. But it's a school. I don't think they'd even let tobacco on the premises... How'd you manage to sneak that in, anyway?"
And so it started. Brushing off her first three sentences, Cadence flicked the burnt-through ash off the end and spouted vile smoke into the air. "Did you get patted down?" He loved acting smart-alecky to get on girls' nerves.
After that he was left to smoke and close his eyes in peace.

As the next eternity passed, he chain-smoked through a whole pack, creating a circle of discarded cigarette butts on the floor around him. The kid two seats down had moved early on to avoid getting dirty.
Finally the little girl on stage spoke. Cadence didn't pay much attention to anything she said, but when she said that she was the headmistress, he almost spit his half-finished joint across the room. What? The headmistress? Well, at least he now knew that he would be able to get his way pretty much whenever he wanted. Even if she had a strong personality, he would match it with his brawn.
They sorted him into Ignis. No Surprise. Cadence definitely considered himself full of fire and passion, and needed room for his ability to grow. He had already seen his weight threshold rise dramatically since he had discovered the rune for himself and that he could lift more than a normal Chupacabra could. He sauntered up to the stage to get his official crest and sash, boldly, still smoking.
If this year was going to go anything like this first couple hours had, it was going to be pretty boring, Cadence thought to himself as he walked back to his seat. When the girl was finally finished with announcements, and asked for questions, Cadence shook his head, though he had a million absolutely dumb questions he could ask. It would only make him look like a fool.